Pressure is on UH's Rhoades to find right man for job

Updated 11:25 pm, Saturday, December 10, 2011

Photo: Melissa Phillip, Houston Chronicle

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University of Houston Director of Athletics Mack Rhoades speaks to the media about the interim head coach Tony Levine in the Carl Lewis Auditorium of the UH Athletics Alumni Center Saturday, Dec. 10, 2011, in Houston. Former Houston Cougars head coach Kevin Sumlin left to become the head coach at Texas A&M.

University of Houston Director of Athletics Mack Rhoades speaks to the media about the interim head coach Tony Levine in the Carl Lewis Auditorium of the UH Athletics Alumni Center Saturday, Dec. 10, 2011, in

Four years ago, Dave Maggard began the news conference just as so many other athletic directors have done.

"This is a great day for the University of Houston," Maggard said just before he announced that Kevin Sumlin had agreed to become the 12th head football coach in the school's history.

There was a cautious buzz among the crowd in attendance that day, but Maggard was right. The Cougars reached unprecedented heights under Sumlin, including a school-best 12-0 start to this season before a disappointing loss to Southern Mississippi in the Conference USA championship game.

So this is not a great day for the University of Houston football program.

Sumlin has agreed to take the head coaching job at Texas A&M, making this a great day for Aggies and a meaningful day for college football in the state of Texas, as Sumlin is the first black man to become head football coach in the program's history.

While Aggies should rejoice, UH must once again reload as it enters the coaching-search arena for the fourth time this century.

The Cougars will be hiring their seventh head coach since Bill Yeoman's 25-year run ended 25 years ago. (Sadly, the longest-tenured of the bunch was Kim Helton, who put UH sufferers through two one-win seasons, a two-win campaign and a pair of three-win years before he was finally put out to pasture.)

Mack Rhoades, who took over for Maggard in 2009, doesn't so much have to sell the university as he has to weed through the candidates. That is how far the program has come in the last decade.

"Humbly speaking, I think there is a lot to offer here," Rhoades said. "Coach Sumlin in his four years did a terrific job and left the program in better shape than it was when he arrived."

Friday's on-campus celebration of the impending move to the Big East Conference is indicative of the energy surrounding the program. Sumlin and Rhoades have been able to take what Art Briles and Maggard started to another level.

Now it is up to Rhoades to continue to build. This coaching hire is vital to the continued success of the program.

Hire the wrong head coach and it wouldn't take long for the recently outta sight Cougars to be out of sight and out of mind.

Rhoades, who spent three years as the AD at Akron before coming to Houston, never has been the lead in hiring a head football coach, but he has participated in 15-plus coaching searches and was part of the two-man team that hired Mike Price at UTEP in 2004.

Making his mark

This decision is where Rhoades will prove he is as good at his job as most believe. The host of positive developments under his watch will be all but forgotten if he fails to hire a coach who maintains the program's momentum.

Fundraising - and Rhoades is halfway home to the funds needed to build a new on-campus football venue to replace outdated Robertson Stadium - is a heck of a lot easier when you have a winning football team.

Fall to the back of the pack, and most will point to Rhoades as the one who ushered in the fall-back era.

That's pressure.

"Pressure is part of the business," Rhoades said. "If you don't like pressure or are adverse to pressure, you probably shouldn't be in the business. I'm not worried about pressure; I'm just concerned with making the best decision.

"In terms of the process and due diligence in searching out the best candidate, we have a process in place that we'll follow and one that is very, very thorough.

"It is rarely a cause for celebration when a program loses an excellent football coach, so let's not spin it."

Reasons for optimism

But, Cougars, there is no need for hand-wringing, either. Briles appeared to have worked a miracle at UH, but Sumlin came along and won more games in four seasons (35) than Briles did in five (34).

So it is OK to believe there are more good days to come.

"With all the assets we have - going to the Big East, a new stadium in the works, the fact that is has been proved that you can win here, a great group of young men who will be returning - we will have great candidates to choose from and hire an excellent coach," Rhoades said. "That I am sure of."